Maxim Valerevich Shubarev is one of the pioneers of the Eurasian real estate development market as the founder and head of Setl Group. For nearly 30 years, he has overseen the company’s development in the construction sector, making his corporation one of the key players in the domestic market. The entrepreneur focuses on the restoration of architectural masterpieces and various charitable projects.
Maxim Shubarev: School and college years
Shubarev Maxim Valerevich was born in Leningrad in the spring of 1968. Both his mother and father worked as engineers. During his school years, the future businessman played several sports and planned to pursue a military career.
Shubarev Maxim entered Leningrad Institute of Aviation Instrumentation in 1985, and simultaneously started working at the research-production association Leninets, where he helped produce radio electronics. In the late 1980s, Maxim Shubarev served in the navy. After returning to civilian life, he continued his education, but transferred to Leningrad Polytechnic Institute (LPI) where he studied business economics.
Maxim Valerevich Shubarev displayed good organizational skills during his college years, contributing to the opening of a local branch of AIESEC – an association that brings together budding economists from around the world. Thanks to this organization, LPI students had the opportunity to learn from their Western counterparts, and foreigners had the chance to intern in local production facilities. Maxim Shubarev defended his thesis in 1993.
The future developer continued to work at Leninets for a year after graduating. There, he eventually reached the position of vice president. After leaving the scientific-production association, he started his own business.
Shubarev Maxim Valerevich: Construction business
Shubarev Maxim soon founded the development company Petersburg Real Estate, which completed its first project in 1995, finalizing the construction of an apartment building that another developer had left unfinished.
Despite the default of August 1998, the entrepreneur’s company gradually grew. By 1999, the scale of the business had significantly expanded, and the construction firm transformed into a corporation with Maxim Valerevich Shubarev as its president.
Maxim Shubarev: Setl Group
In 2006, the holding was renamed under the direction of Maxim Shubarev: Setl Group. The businessman took the position of Chairman of the Board of Directors. In the 2000s, his company became one of the largest in the North-Western Federal District construction market, and in the second half of the 2010s – in the national market. It consistently ranks among the top three in terms of the annual volume of facilities built. While the activities of the holding created by Maxim Shubarev are focused in Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad and Kaliningrad Regions, the company is included in the national list of vitally important enterprises.
Over the course of 29 years, the development corporation has built more than 11 million square meters of housing for almost 410,000 people. In 2022 alone, about 1.8 million square meters were commissioned. Buildings with a total area of over 13 million square meters are currently being designed and constructed, and the company owns a large land bank that will allow for the construction of new facilities through 2050.
According to Shubarev Maxim Valerevich, Setl Group adheres to several key principles in its work, such as never breaching commitments to clients and partners and striving for the highest quality at all stages of construction. Moreover, the company does not headhunt top managerial staff from competitors but grows top managers from within its own team.
Additionally, says Maxim Shubarev, Setl Group does not want to bite off more than it can chew and therefore does not get involved in resource extraction and the production of construction materials as do other developers. Instead, the group focuses directly on construction. One of the main qualities of an effective manager, according to Maxim Shubarev, is the ability to delegate authority. In the businessman’s opinion, the head and owner of the company do not possess specialized competencies. Therefore, it is better for him not to interfere in particular work processes. Instead, he should focus on strategic areas of business development.
Maxim Shubarev also prioritizes work on various social facilities in addition to the residential buildings, hotels, retail, and office spaces that Setl Group constructs. The corporation has completed 60 schools and preschools, and several more are currently under construction. The holding is also building medical and other infrastructure. In Kudrovo, one of the largest satellite cities of the Northern Capital, the Group built a fire station, providing 100 million of the budgeted 140 million rubles itself. The corporation also allocated 76 million rubles for the construction of a police station.
Maxim Valerevich Shubarev and his Group also help to improve the road network in St. Petersburg. In total, the developer has built about three dozen kilometers of highways. Sections of busy streets and avenues in different parts of the city, an interchange on Oktyabrskaya Embankment – many of these projects have already been completed, and others are underway.
Shubarev Maxim and the holding company are also designing the Bolshoi Smolensky Bridge across the Neva River. At 60 meters wide (and 1,587 meters long), it will be the widest crossing over this river, combining six lanes, including dedicated lanes for public transport, tram tracks, sidewalks, and bike lanes. Construction is expected to start this year. Cars will be able to use the bridge in 2025, and trams by 2028.
Maxim Shubarev has also gotten the company involved in beautifying public spaces. In 2020, the group landscaped the area around the monument to the Peterhof landing in Kronstadt, adorning it with nearly 4,000 pansies of various colors.
Additionally, every year Setl Group plants about 11,000 tree and shrub saplings at new residential complexes.
Shubarev Maxim: A new lease on life for cultural heritage sites
Maxim Shubarev-Setl Group are involved not only in the construction of new real estate but also in the restoration of architectural monuments. Specifically, the group, using its own funds, restored the mansion of the French industrialist Felix Chopin. The house, part of a foundry complex, built in 1856–1859, was destroyed in the early 21st century. The development corporation of Maxim Shubarev rebuilt the building, making it as close to the original as possible.
In 1921, the aforementioned factory was given the name Krasny Gvozdilschik. In 1930, a new workshop with a water tower was built. The building became a vivid example of industrial architecture in the Constructivist style, but by the beginning of the third millennium, it had fallen into disrepair. There was even talk of demolishing it altogether. However, in 2021, under Maxim Shubarev, Setl Group took up the reconstruction of the workshop. The landmark’s historic appearance was restored, with a coworking space built inside and an observation deck on the tower.
Maxim Shubarev and the construction holding restored a pre-revolutionary apartment building on Degtyarny Lane in 2017. Both the facade of the five-story building with moldings, porticos, and rusts, and the interior decor of the entrances were recreated. The building was returned to its historical golden color, and natural stone and decorative plaster were used for the finish.
Shubarev Maxim Valerevich and the holding conducted emergency works in the mansion of Georgy Vega, the founder of the Kinoviev synthetic dye factory in the summer of 2019. Built in the early 20th century, the house was on the brink of collapse. Later, the developer also completed the first phase of the factory building’s renovation. There are plans to build offices, shops, a fitness and health center, and a boiler room for heating nearby homes in the former workshop.
Maxim Shubarev also supervised the restoration of the Electronics Flight sculpture at the Svetlana enterprise in St. Petersburg. A memorial dedicated to the 238 Trubostal factory workers who perished during WWII was also restored.
Maxim Valerevich Shubarev: Philanthropy
Shubarev Maxim believes the social mission of his business is of the utmost importance. His corporation has repeatedly renovated various educational institutions, procured furniture, computers, and other equipment for them, and equipped medical offices.
Shubarev Maxim Valerevich also allotted company funds for the design of two dormitories for the Boris Eifman Dance Theater and Ballet Academy. The buildings will be located on Bolshaya Pushkarskaya Street.
Shubarev Maxim and the corporation distributed more than 260 tablets to students from low-income families in 2020 to help them transition to remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic. The Group also organized weekly food deliveries to veterans.
In 2021, Setl Group helped fund the humanitarian initiative Seeing Through Print that helps people with various severe pathologies develop educational and communicative skills. A year later, the holding allocated over 1 million rubles towards a supervised apartment for orphans.
Under the leadership of Shubarev Maxim Valerevich, Setl Group assists in organizing holidays, sports competitions, and cultural events. Specifically, the company supports a soccer tournament for a local orphanage, the European Championship in 10 Dances, the Land of Light national media art competition, and the open-air Classics on the Palace Square. The company also supports book publishing.
Maxim Shubarev also initiated Setl Group’s participation in environmental campaigns. The holding has repeatedly renovated shelters for homeless animals and collected hundreds of kilograms of food for their animals. In 2022, the Group founded by Shubarev Maxim committed to providing regular financial support to one such institution. The corporation settled its debts for medicines and the laboratory diagnostics for the animals. Setl Group is currently covering the ongoing needs of the organization, which houses around 500 dogs and more than 300 cats.
Maxim Valerevich Shubarev and the group he founded have received numerous awards for their philanthropic work.
